UK prosecutors charge two after RAF Fairford incident

British-Iranian dual national Mohmed Abdulkarim and British citizen Nouman Essghir charged under the National Security Act.

Armed police maintain road blocks and security checks around RAF Fairford in England, September 28, 2026 [Leon Neal/Getty Images]

British prosecutors say they ⁠⁠have charged two men with ‌‌offences under the National Security Act following an incident ⁠⁠in September ⁠⁠at RAF Fairford, an ⁠⁠airbase in England used ⁠⁠by ⁠⁠the United States.

British-Iranian dual national Mohmed Abdulkarim and British citizen Nouman Essghir, both aged 24, were charged under the National Security Act, the Crown Prosecution Service said. They are due to appear in court later on Tuesday.

list 1 of 3 UK blames Iran for airbase plot, sanctions two Iranian nationals

list 2 of 3 Iran sees ‘false flag’ operations after UK blames IRGC for airbase incident

list 3 of 3 UK spy chief says Iran is stepping up targeting of military bases

Abdulkarim is charged with assisting Iran’s intelligence service, and Essghir with entering a prohibited place for a purpose prejudicial to the United Kingdom.

The airbase in Gloucestershire, southwestern England, had been used by US bombers to carry out strikes on Iran this year.

Essghir was arrested outside the base on September 27, when armed police officers and army bomb-disposal experts swarmed the rural area. Dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes as police and army bomb-disposal experts searched for explosives.

Abdulkarim was arrested in the past week. Six other men have been arrested and released on bail as investigations continue.

Shortly after the incident at the base, US B-1 bombers were withdrawn from the site.

Assistant Commissioner Laurence ‌Taylor, head of the UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said police believed ‌the country ‌Abdulkarim was assisting was Iran.

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham last week said the activity at RAF Fairford was likely to have been coordinated in Iran, which Iran’s ambassador to the UK has denied.

Last year the UK said there had been 20 credible Iranian-backed threats to kill or kidnap individuals based in the UK.

In July, Britain used new powers to ban support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a linked group, Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI), which had claimed responsibility for seven attacks earlier this year at locations linked to Jewish and Israeli communities, and Persian-language media.

拥有英国和伊朗双重国籍的穆罕默德·阿卜杜勒卡里姆和英国公民努曼·埃斯吉尔因违反《国家安全法》而被起诉。

2026年9月28日，英国皇家空军费尔福德基地周围，武装警察设置路障并进行安全检查。[Leon Neal/Getty Images]

英国检察官表示，他们已根据《国家安全法》对两名男子提起诉讼，指控他们在 9 月份于英国皇家空军费尔福德基地（美国使用的英国空军基地）发生的一起事件中犯有罪行。

英国皇家检控署表示，拥有英国和伊朗双重国籍的24岁男子穆罕默德·阿卜杜勒卡里姆和英国公民努曼·埃斯吉尔因违反《国家安全法》而被起诉。他们将于周二晚些时候出庭。

英国指责伊朗策划空军基地阴谋，制裁两名伊朗公民（共3条，此为第1条）

列表 2/3：英国指责伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队发动空军基地事件后，伊朗方面认为伊朗正在进行“伪旗行动”。

英国情报局长称伊朗正在加大对军事基地的袭击力度（共3条，此为第3条）

阿卜杜勒卡里姆被控协助伊朗情报部门，埃斯吉尔被控以损害英国利益的目的进入禁区。

位于英格兰西南部格洛斯特郡的这个空军基地，今年曾被美国轰炸机用于对伊朗进行空袭。

9月27日，埃斯吉尔在基地外被捕。当时，武装警察和军队拆弹专家迅速包围了这片乡村地区。数十名居民被疏散，警方和军队拆弹专家对爆炸物进行了搜查。

阿卜杜勒卡里姆上周被捕。另有六名男子被捕后获准保释，调查仍在进行中。

基地事件发生后不久，美国B-1轰炸机就从该基地撤离。

英国反恐警察部门负责人、助理警务处长劳伦斯·泰勒表示，警方认为阿卜杜勒卡里姆协助的国家是伊朗。

英国首相安迪·伯纳姆上周表示，费尔福德皇家空军基地的活动很可能是由伊朗协调的，但伊朗驻英国大使否认了这一说法。

去年，英国表示，有 20 起可信的、由伊朗支持的威胁，威胁要杀害或绑架居住在英国的人员。

7 月，英国利用新权力禁止支持伊斯兰革命卫队 (IRGC) 及其关联组织 Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya (HAYI)。该组织声称对今年早些时候发生在与犹太人和以色列人社区有关的地点的七起袭击事件负责，并禁止支持波斯语媒体。